Contador Contador may have lost the overall victory in the Criterium du Dauphiné on the final day but the Spaniard was not the least bit disappointed. On the contrary, his strong showing in the finale where he single-handedly almost closed the gap to the strong front group made him very proud of the result.

The 8th and 131 kilometer long final stage of the Dauphiné was not your usual final parade of a last stage. It was the crucial moment of truth for Tinkoff-Saxo’s Alberto Contador and Chris Froome when they took on the final slope to Courchevel.

Before the uphill finish, the field exploded several times as everyone wanted to have a piece of the cake. The escapees wanted their way and Froome clearly wanted to isolate the leading rider, Contador Contador, in which they succeeded before entering the final climb. The Tinkoff-Saxo teammates worked hard in the peloton to bridge the gap to the Contador/Froome group but without effect. In the group ahead of Contador, Andrew Talansky (Garmin Sharp) and companions had built up a lead of more than 1.30 minutes with 50 kilometers to go, which meant that Contador had to rely on Team Sky closing the gap.

With 25 kilometers to go, the attacks from Team Sky, Wilco Kelderman (Belkin) and Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) fell relentlessly on Contador who singlehandedly had to fight them off. As Nibali had gone and brought two teammates with him, Alberto Contador leaped away from Froome and tried to bridge the gap to the Italian rider while Froome was supported and driven onwards by Riche Porte and David Lopez.

But Contador time trialed his way up the road chasing Talansky who virtually was in the leader’s jersey and it was now a question of Contador vs. Talansky as Froome was distanced by every meter. With 5 kilometers to go, Talansky had a gap of minute and was only 39 seconds behind in the GC while Contador was absolutely punishing himself to close that gap.

Mikel Nieve (Sky) launched the crucial attack from the front group with 3 kilometers to go and quickly established a gap to win the stage while Contador passed the Astana-riders one by one and dropped instantly. But it wasn’t enough. Andrew Talansky (Garmin-Sharp) took the overall win after a tactically gutsy early move while Contador Contador demonstrated a display of pure power and determination putting Tour de France rival, Chris Froome behind.

Contador finished tenth today and second overall – 27 seconds behind Talansky.

“This is by no means a disappointment," he said. "On the other hand, I'm very happy with my ride today. I felt strong. I knew it would be difficult to keep the lead but what I've achieved today is more than a victory.

"I'm not surprised by Andrew Talansky, he's a rider of a very high quality and he was helped by very strong team-mate like Ryder Hesjedal.

"After this week of racing at such a high level, I'll go for a nice pizza tonight and I'll take a good rest prior to one last training camp in the mountains and I believe I'll show up in my best shape at the start of the Tour de France on July 5.”

“It was an exciting final stage for sure but of course, we would have rather wanted it to be safe," sports director Philippe Mauduit said. "Unfortunately, Alberto was forced to chase on his own and he did an amazing job but had to settle for second place overall at the end of the day.

"On the positive side, Contador demonstrated that the form is where it’s supposed to be at this point and he’ll be ready for the Tour de France. Andrew Talansky rode a phenomenally good stage and he earned the win today."